Danny's Nightmare
by dolphinrain
Summary: Warning: This story deals with the attempted abuse of a child. Nothing graphic but could be disturbing.


Hawaii Five-O

Danny's Nightmare

(Disclaimer: I own nothing from Hawaii Five-O and am writing for the enjoyment of it. Although I wouldn't mind Scott Caan wearing just a bow for my birthday (Okay, a picture of Scott Caan wearing just a bow would be okay as well. This story follows my previous one, 'The Fall and Rise of Danny Williams'. It's not necessary to read that to follow but references are made to it.)

A/N: Warning for the attempted abuse of a child.

Danny had finally returned to work at near full capacity. His left hand was never going to be one hundred percent again, but he'd learned to compensate. After everything he'd been through over the past year, he really felt like a blessed person, even if he was still in this pineapple infested hole.

He arrived at Five-O headquarters and stepped out. He hesitated for a moment before heading inside. He strode into the office anticipating the stack of paperwork he was finally going to have to finish. The detective had stopped for a cup of coffee and a bag of the cocoa puffs before coming in and was about as ready as he could be.

After sitting he took out a pen and began his task. He glanced up to see Steve was at his own desk working at his own papers. The former Seal glanced up when he seemed to sense eyes on him and smirked.

"Mine's bigger than yours," he said.

Danny shook his head. "That could be misunderstood in so many ways."

There were no emergency calls during the day. Max did bring a report to close a case and gave it to Steve. Around lunchtime, they ordered out for pizza but other than that it was quiet. It was just around four-thirty that Danny's cell phone rang. Rachel.

With a sigh he answered it. "Danny, did you pick Grace up at school?"

"No. It was your turn. I won't get her this week. Why?" Danny was frowning.

"I went to pick her up and she wasn't there."  
"Are you sure she isn't hanging out with her friends? She's been doing more of that lately."

"I already talked with Lucy. She said she hasn't seen her."

Danny got to his feet. "Where are you now?"

"At the school."  
"Alright, I'll drive over. Keep asking around."

Steve was looking over at his partner and saw the tension.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"No. Rachel went to pick Grace up at school and she's not there," Danny already had his keys and gun. "I'm heading over now."

"Need a hand?"

Danny hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to panic yet but his stomach was already in knots. He nodded as they headed out. The drive to the school was tense as Danny hardly spoke. He'd been through this once before and he couldn't stand the thought of going through this again. Steve said little as they drove. He knew Danny wouldn't be okay until he saw his daughter safe and sound and he also felt the same way.

Rachel was waiting for them when the Camaro pulled into the school yard. Danny got out before the engine was off and hurried over to his ex-wife. The woman was shaking and was with one of the crossing guards. Other teachers and staff were also with her.

"She's not anywhere, Danny," the frantic mother told him. "I've spoken to some of her friends and other teachers. No one saw her leaving the school."

"Alright, is there anywhere she could go?" Steve asked. He was in full Seal mode already. "Does the school have any surveillance cameras? Talk to everyone who has seen her today. Are there any security guards?"

Another parent stayed with Rachel as they all went to ask around. Rachel had dropped her off that morning as usual. Grace had been excited about the upcoming cheerleading practice this weekend. She had been chatting about needing new sneakers since she was out growing her old ones. Steve headed inside with Danny to locate the principal.

"Detective Williams?" Cooper Andros held out his hand. "Pleasure to see you."  
"We need your help," Danny said and explained the situation.

"Alright, I can let you look at the tapes but I need to be present," Andros said as he let them to the security office. "That way if any parents have issues I can vouch for you."

"Thanks," Steve said.

"Just see if you can spot Grace on these," Danny said as the security guard fast forwarded on the tapes.

"We added these cameras just a few years ago as a precaution," Andros explained to Steve. "I hoped we'd never have to deal with anything like this."

"No one does," Steve replied.

"There she is," Danny pointed excitedly.

Steve leaned over to peer at the screen. There was Grace just leaving the gym floor heading toward the locker rooms. Andros was looking at a clipboard of class schedules.

"That was the last class of the day," he noted. "The kids would have changed and headed for the buses or parents."

Danny was watching intently as Grace and the other girls disappeared into the locker room. He frowned when he saw some older boys come into the gym immediately afterwards. There were three of them. The girls reemerged in their street clothes a few minutes later, Grace included. She was laughing and chatting with Lucy. One of the boys stepped out and caused Grace to bump into him. She apologized and continued on her way. The boy followed her. Danny's stomach tightened as he watched.

"Where did they go from there?" Danny asked, clenching his fists.

The tech changed the camera picture to the front of the school. There were buses lined up out front as well as several vehicles. Danny spotted Rachel's new Jeep Cherokee near the end of the line. The kids emerged from the large double doors.

"Do you see her, Steven?" Danny asked squinting at the images.

"I don't see her or that kid," Steve replied, his own instincts on high alert.

"I know that kid," Andros said, shaking his head. "Ryan Peters. He's been in and out of trouble. Was suspended and nearly expelled a few months ago. But his father is a member of the school board and the kid was allowed to continue. It was under the condition he have regular visits with the guidance counselor."

"I don't care. Where the hell is he now and where is my daughter?" Danny exclaimed. "If he even touches her, he'll be lucky if he can get a G.E.D."

"Call Lucy's mom," Steve asked. "Maybe Lucy can tell us where the last time she saw Grace."

"Lucy didn't remember seeing Grace after leaving the gym," Steve said after getting off the phone with Lucy's mother. "She said Grace had stopped in the bathroom just outside the gym and she'd headed out to her own mom. She didn't wait for Grace."

Danny was already out of the door and running down the hallway. He'd been here many times before for events with Grace. The halls were mostly empty as the students had left. Only a few maintenance workers with mops and buckets remained.

He took out his gun as he neared the bathroom. "Grace," he yelled. He didn't hesitate as he slowly opened the door.

"Grace!" he yelled.

Ryan Peters had a crying Grace pinned to the floor. He never knew what hit him as he went flying across the bathroom to slam into the wall.

"Get the hell away from her!"

Steve was just a step behind Danny. He sat on the boy's back as Danny went to Grace. The girl screamed as he touched her.

"Monkey, it's Danno," Danny said as he took her in his arms.

She opened her eyes. She flung her arms around him and just held on.

"I've got you, baby, I've got you," Danny cried into her hair as he felt her warm tears on his cheek.

Steve hauled Ryan to his feet. The boy couldn't have been older than fourteen. Ryan's belt was open and his zipper was down. Steve pulled the boy to within an inch of his own face.

"Daddy's not going to get you out of this one, kid," he promised. "I can't be bribed or threatened."

Danny got to his feet holding Grace to him. He quickly left the bathroom to hurry outside where her mother was still waiting. When Rachel saw them, she ran over to them and put her own arms around the both of them.

"Thank you," she said.

"Get her checked out," Danny said. "I think she's okay except a bruise or two. I'll be along as soon as I can."

"I'll go with them," the crossing guard said as she put an arm around Rachel.

"Thanks." Danny reluctantly let go of Grace. "I'll be right behind you, monkey. Okay?"

Grace just nodded. She was still in a state of shock as her mother left. Danny saw another vehicle pull up a few minutes later along with a police cruiser. A man in an expensive looking suit got out of the blue Audi.

"Where is my son?" the man said as he neared the school entrance.

Just at that moment, Steve and Andros came out. Ryan was in cuffs and struggling with them. As soon as he saw the man, he brightened slightly.

"Dad, get these idiots off of me," Ryan blurted out.

"What's going on?" the man said.

"Mr. Peters?" Steve said.

"Yes, who the hell are you? Why is my son in cuffs?"

"I'm Commander Steve McGarrett. Your son is under arrest for the attempted rape of another student."

Mr. Peters looked genuinely stunned. "That's impossible. There has to be some mistake."

"Yeah, Dad, it is," Ryan exclaimed.

Danny could hold back no longer. He launched himself at Ryan. "You son of a bitch. You tried to rape my daughter!" he screamed as he punched Ryan in the face. "The only mistake was you not getting expelled." He kept punching the boy.

"Danny!" Steve tried to pull his friend off of Ryan.

Andros was waving as more security came over to help hold Danny back. Mr. Peters waved a finger at them. Steve now had a firm hold of Danny. Slowly the detective was calming down.

"I'll sue you!" Peters was yelling and still waving a finger at them. "I'll sue every single one of you!"

Steve looked at Danny. "Go on, go to Grace. I'll handle this."

Danny just turned on his heel and stormed off in the direction of his Camaro. As soon as he was gone Steve turned to the other officers.

"Get Ryan in a cruiser and get him out of here now," he ordered.

Ryan was led away, with a now bloody nose and a black eye. He cursed at them and yelled for his dad to deal with them.

Steve stepped close to Mr. Peters who was still threatening lawyers and years of law suits.

"Your son is under arrest for the attempted rape of that man's daughter, Mr. Peters," he said in a voice that barely held his own rage in check. "He won't get away with it. I will personally make sure of it. There isn't a lawyer or court that can stand up to me. I suggest instead of lawyers why don't you get your son professional help. Maybe you, too. Right now, I have to go and see to a 10 year old girl who was almost raped by YOUR son. "

At the emergency room, Danny found Rachel sleeping in a chair with Grace asleep on the bed. He didn't ask how she was. He had taken his time getting here to calm down before he saw his daughter. As if sensing his presence, Grace opened her eyes. She looked up at him and sat up. Gently he took her in his arms and they both simply cried.

FINISHED

(Okay, that's the end. I thought that a good place to stop this. I might do a sequel to this but for now this is it. This is a similar story that happened in our area just a few months ago. As a mother myself of three children I can't image anyone hurting them. It is an unfortunate but sad side of our world that needs to be seen as the problem it is.)

(If you read please leave a review. They really make my day! :-)


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